by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
As the line between movies and TV shows continues to blur, a couple of trends are starting to creep up. First, a few movies are starting to be split up into miniseries as director’s cuts or as a way to increase their audience. BlackBerry partnered with AMC to show the movie in three parts and Hulu partnered with Baz Luhrmann to do a director’s cut miniseries of his movie Australia. We also have a trend of movies getting a sequel or prequel TV series years after they came out. This isn’t necessarily a new trend, but one that will continue to increase as streaming services continue to search for less risky ventures. Peacock recently jumped into the fray with a prequel miniseries to the 2012 movie Ted.
This version of Ted (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) brings the foul-mouthed teddy bear back to 1993 when John Bennet (Max Burkholder) is in high school and living with his parents, Susan (Alanna Ubach) and Matty (Scott Grimes). Both of them welcome John’s cousin, Blaire (Giorgia Whigham), into their home, and shenanigans ensue.
MacFarlane spared no expense to ensure that Ted felt like a classic ‘90s sitcom. Complete with a fun theme song and those interesting B-roll shots of their house, this is as close to the old-school TGIF series ABC used to put on in a long time. Each episode is a different adventure, with a very loose connective storyline about John’s year in high school. The biggest development there is that Ted is forced to attend high school after an incident where he destroys something in the house.
The ‘90s are an interesting spot to pick for Ted. There are a lot of references to ‘90s things, such as O.J. Simpson, Jurassic Park, various toys, and video rental stores. MacFarlane taps into the nostalgia of the time. Lots of changes culturally are starting to happen, particularly with women and LGBTQIA+ individuals. Ted addresses some of the issues in his typical crude fashion, but the other characters around him get the chance to offer more commentary on the world. This is largely thanks to Blaire, who is in college and brushes up against Susan and Matty’s old-school perspective on gender norms. Meanwhile, Susan has an interesting storyline about a potential return to work after spending most of her adult life being a stay-at-home parent. The discussions about Blaire and Susan’s definition of feminism, and what it means to be a woman during this time, are some of the strongest moments of the season.
Another interesting topic is Matty’s definition of masculinity. Grimes has been a mainstay with MacFarlane’s content, and he does a decent job of showing it what it means to be the “head of the household.” To his credit, though, Matty has to make some tough decisions regarding how he feels about the changing times. It doesn’t always work; however, that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to take away from the attempts to say something beyond toilet humor and quippy jokes.
It’s a little shocking that of all the characters in the show, John gets the short end of the stick. I do understand how everyone else is new, so there’s a need to establish and develop them, but one of the biggest disappointments in the show is the lack of any true character development. The most John gets is B-storylines and one episode that he truly owns, which doesn’t happen until nearly the end of the season. Burkholder is pretty good for the role, but he simply doesn’t have enough to do. His interactions with Ted are funny, but if that’s all we’re getting from this series, it simply isn’t enough.
Ted is an interesting character to analyze. He’s obviously the star, who gets all the funny jokes, but there are a few moments that show progress for him as a character. The first is when we see the times he tries to be supportive of Blaire and Susan. Showing a level of care and respect that I wasn’t expecting, Ted’s relationship with the women of the series is a highlight. Anytime that John and Ted get to interact with one another, there’s usually a blend of comedy and some genuine heart-to-heart moments. The series takes place after Ted’s five minutes of fame are over, but what happened is never really shown or addressed, including how it made him feel or how that changed him. It’s a missed opportunity, but not one that detracts too much from what the show presents to the audience. Even still, the CGI is surprisingly effective and looks better than either of the original movies.
Most people’s opinion of Ted is going to depend largely on how much of MacFarlane’s humor they can stomach. Beyond the fart jokes and rudimentary humor, maybe it’s my age or my tolerance wearing off, but his comedy simply goes too far for me to enjoy everything being presented. The jokes go to the lowest common denominator simply for shock value. For instance, Matty shares a story about a traumatic experience while he was in the Vietnam War. It’s a gross story that is meant to play as funny. In addition, Ted wades into political discussions that feel shoehorned in.
Ted is a mildly funny show that introduces great new characters and offers some fun nostalgia. A lot of the jokes are empty calories that I just don’t find funny anymore. John and Ted’s relationship is fun to see, but nothing happens from a development standpoint to move the needle. If a Season Two is in the cards, especially after it became Peacock’s most-watched scripted show, I’ll be curious to see if the creators can actually show anything worth watching beyond crude jokes.
Rating: High Side of Just Okay
Ted is currently streaming on Peacock
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